Ehud ben Gera

Immediate Family

About Judge Ehud ben Gera

Ehud ben‑Gera (Hebrew: אֵהוּד בֶּן‑גֵּרָא‎‎,) is described in the biblical Book of Judges as a judge who was sent by God to deliver the Israelites from the Moabite yoke. Contents

Biblical narrative

Ehud was sent to the Moabite King Eglon on the pretext of delivering the Israelites' annual tribute. He had blacksmiths make a double-edged shortsword about eighteen inches long, useful for a stabbing thrust. Being left-handed, he could conceal the sword on his right thigh, where it was not expected.

Once they met, Ehud told Eglon he had a secret message for him. Eglon dismissed his attendants and allowed Ehud to meet him in private. Ehud said, "I have a message from God for you", drew his sword, and stabbed the king in his abdomen. Eglon was eviscerated by the blow, which caused him to leak excrement;[2] he was so overweight that the sword disappeared into the wound and Ehud left it there. He locked the doors to the king's chamber and left. Eglon's assistants returned when too much time had elapsed and found the doors locked. Assuming that he was relieving himself, they waited "to the point of embarrassment" before unlocking the door and finding their king dead.

Ehud escaped to the town of Seriah in Ephraim. He sounded the shofar and rallied the Israelite tribes, who killed the Moabites, cutting off the fords of the Jordan River, and invaded Moab itself, killing about 10,000 Moabite soldiers.

After the death of Eglon there was peace in the land for 80 years.

Biblical criticism

Coogan argues that the story of Ehud was likely a folk tale of local origin that was edited by the Deuteronomistic historians. The Deuteronomistic historians “incorporated a variety of previously existing sources into their narrative of life in early Israel” and the story of Ehud is one such example of a “previously existing source” that has been edited to include “the cyclical pattern” typical of the stories of the major judges. This pattern consists of apostasy, hardship, crying out to the Lord, and rescue and it is clearly present in the tale of Ehud: apostasy and hardship occur in Judges 3.12, “The Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord strengthened King Eglon of Moab against Israel.” The “crying out to the Lord” and the subsequent rescue are evident in Judges 3.15: “but when the Israelites cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up for them a deliverer, Ehud son of Gera.” The rather lively and humorous tale is ended with the refrain of “and the land had rest 80 years,” (Judges 3.30) an editorially constructed ending typical to Gideon (biblical figure) and other “major” judge stories in the book of Judges.